we're here in iowa. we have the election express bus. the whole team will be here. we're ready for this caucus. >> when the bus is in town cnn means business, right? okay. paul steinhauser. >> reporter: you've got it. among our team of reporters covering the first important test in iowa, we'll have our next political update in an hour. a reminder to go to the website at any time, politics.com. that will do it for me. drew griffin picks it up from the cnn center. hi, droou. >> hi. live from studio seven here. let's get you up to speed on what's going on monday, december 26th. a week and a day until those iowa caucuses. latest poll, a three-way dead heat. ron paul, mitt romney and newt gingrich. the american research group breaks it down like. this paul is at 21%. romney at 20%. gingrich at 19%. the other candidates all in single digits. dozens of people dead in nigeria. a string of church bombings

there on christmas day. the white house condemning these blasts. nigeria's president calling an end to the sectarian violence voug to catch those responsible. churches also bombed in nigeria last christmas season. more arab league observers are on their way to sir yeah here's why. an opposition group says security forces killed more than 20 people in the city of homs today. the observer planned to go there. u.n. says more than 5,000 people have died since syria's crackdown on protests began in march. a suicide car bomber in iraq got through six security check points before setting off an explosive device at the interior ministry. at least five people killed there, 39 wounded. this happened after iraq's prime minister was meeting with the senior security officials to talk about how to keep the country safe. a series of explosions killed

almost 70 people in baghdad just last week. mexico says it's captured the chief of security for one of the most wanted alleged drug kingpins in the country. the kingpin is known as e el chappo, shorty. that guy made the forbes billionaire's list last year. they say that guzman's chief of security was involved in kid namgs, secret burials. the maker of the baby formula enfamil said ittested the product and found none of the bacteria that's being plamd for an infant's death. another infant did get sick and is recovering. walmart pulled the cans off its shelves but so far state and federal and now company tests have found no evidence of the bacteria. and a christmas gift for basketball fans. the nba season begins after a

month-long lockout. it ended with a virtual 50-50 split between the owners and the players. well, christmas has come and gone, but the shopping has not. in this day after christmas it's becoming as important to retailers as the days before. alison kosik outside of macy's in mid town manhattan. some sales experts say this could be the third busiest shopping day of the year. i thought we were done. >> reporter: yeah. retailers were hoping that that's the case. it feels a lot like christmas. the music is still going. the salvation army bell is still ringing behind me. people are still very festive and walking with lots of bags. but you know what, for retailers, this winds up being a day where consumers wind up returning half of their christmas gifts. would you believe it's not necessarily such a bad thing. the way the national retail federation sees it, 10% of all of the sales from the holiday shopping season, they wind up being returned. the good thing is that that

means consumers get back into the stores and they're likely to return those items, drew, but then walk out with more bags again. drew. >> do you have any idea on how this holiday season went for the retailers? what are they expecting after they add this all up? >> reporter: well, you know what's happened? black friday was one of those very -- it's been a very good black friday for retailers, to say the least. consumers came out strong. they spent a lot of money. but the reality is the momentum of that purchasing power really kind of levelled off as the season went on. this week, the week meaning between christmas and new year's, is considered the second season. you look at last year. last year sales were around $62 billion. this year it's expected to be $72 billion. retailers have high hopes. we will certainly tally up the numbers when the week is over and see who is right. drew. >> alison, certainly a lot of shoppers behind you there in front of macy's. thank you so much. here's your chance to talk

back on one of the big stories of the day. we want to know, do you think that betting on a presidential race should be legal? here's the story. a derivatives exchange is asking permission to offer trading, is what they're calling it, on the 2012 election. that means you could win money based on who wins the election. the idea is to treat the candidates' campaigns like companies with stock values rising or falling and investors making or losing money. if approved, this would be the first time wagering on elections would be federally regulated. so what do you think about it? should it be allowed? should betting on a presidential race be legal? you can join the conversation on facebook. post comments on suzanne malveaux's web page. facebook.com/suzannecnn. here's a rundown on some of the stories we're covering. first, how can you make this year's tax return bigger than last year's. we'll tell you how to do that. hackers break into a global

intelligence company's website grabbing information from 4,000 credit cards. and a 106 year old stock broker has learned from decades on wall street. his wisdom to share with you. also a look at christmas in hawaii with the obamas. later scuba divers make an amazing discovery off a beach in florida.

president obama and his family are spending the holidays far away from washington enjoying some fun in the sun in hawaii. white house correspondent brianna keilar has pulled a tough assignment of traveling with the president. she joins us from honolulu. brianna, what have the obama's

been up to. president got there a couple of days ago, right? >> reporter: yeah, he got here a couple days ago. the day before christmas eve. it's been pretty light business, as you can imagine, drew. coming here on friday after signing that payroll tax extension into law. kind of with a bit of a victory under his belt. he's been up to some of the standard holiday things. for president obama that meant yesterday that he and the first lady went to the marine base not far from the home that they're staying at in kailua. he got to meet a lot of service members and their families. we had -- our travel pool of cameras had quite a lot of access to see what happened. it was pretty funny, actually. there was -- there were a couple of really light moments that included babies, which seems to be a pattern with president obama. you can see a little 8-month-old baby who was talking to president obama or his parents were talking to the president and after a couple of minutes

that baby just decided that he was going to go ahead and stick his hand in the president's mouth. so you can imagine that got a lot of applause. a really light moment there on christmas day here in owe huh. >> the president has been in tough sfiets in washington, d.c. the babies seem to be popping up everywhere. seems to have the baby vote locked up. >> reporter: the baby vote is locked up. there have been a couple of funny baby moments. it's an election year. there's a whole lot of kissing babies that has to go on, but i think i would say as well, it seems like there's been a lot of it lately. we've seen this for some time. in fact, one of the more funny moments that i recall in recent history was during the congressal picnic this summer. i think it's probably one of the fun iest moments i've seen. they were working a rope line. the first lady took a baby because the parents wanted a

photo with mr. and mrs. obama, and the baby went crazy. was really upset. had to be handed back to the family eventually because they wanted a photo. the president took the baby, baby calmed down, completely simerred down. all was well. so i think he's maybe a bit of a baby whisperer. i don't know. >> brianna keilar. looks beautiful there even though it's dark there early in the morning. well, millions of people are heading back home after their holiday travels. some, though, may have a little tough time. reynolds wolf was here. we were just discussing this, reynolds. it wasn't as bad a holiday weather season as last year. there are some parts of the country. >> absolutely. last year was a nightmare. we had so many people in the airports that were stuck there for days and days. >> i was stranded. >> yeah. you don't want to go back there. certainly thankfully a lot of americans haven't had to deal with that. let me show you the one big trouble smot that we have for today. it's easy to see. it's popping up like a giant

bull's eye. rain clear up to the mid mississippi valley. that's going to be the spot where you're going to have some backups in some of the airports. you may see some delays in places like new orleans as we zoom into a few other key locations. dallas looking a little bit better. we have a backup also in houston. if you make your way up towards parts of st. louis, go across i-70, see precipitation switching over into light sleet. nothing too heavy, but enough to give you some slippery conditions. parts of i-70, anyone going out and about trying to return packages, trying to get a last minute gift, you can't get another one, a makeup present, you might have some luck with that today. take a look at the national perspective. although we have the rain there, couldn't be better in the northeast. pure bliss. even in atlanta where yesterday in parts of the deep south we had tons of rain. things will be better back into the central plains and desert southwest. pacific northwest you'll see

rain. the problem is we're going to see that continue. in fact, you take a look at this infrared satellite imagery. check it out. giant atmosphere conveyer belt that is going to bring a giant plume of moisture. terrible news for people who are trying to drive on parts of i-5 but for all the ski resorts, it's going to be okay for you. picture perfect. we're going to see a lot of that moisture feed its way into places like sunday valley, idaho, perhaps into montana before it's all over. we've been showing you what's happening in terms of precipitation but to give you an idea of what you can expect in terms of temperatures, it's certainly going to be above the freezing point. you'll see rain drops in houston. that low will pull its way back up into parts of the northeast. that cold air right behind it is going to give you a chance of snowfall in parts of new york, especially along 81 and into 90. that is a quick snapshot of your forecast. 38 in denver, 45 in minneapolis, 45 in new york, 70 los angeles.

san francisco, your high for the day, 58. not bad. >> that's not bad at all. here are the stories making news across the country. investigators trying to figure out what set off a deadly house fire in connecticut on christmas morning. two adults and three children died there. two people made it out alive. then a big find at the bottom of the ocean. a group of scuba divers spotted this plane off of the coast of florida. talk about a happy holiday. somebody hit it in maryland. the winning $125 million power ball lottery. the winner called the store to confirm the ticket, but they haven't come forward yet. working on a plan, i guess. nothing will keep bargain hunters away from after-christmas sales, not even a transit stop.

well, today is boxing day. huge day for retail. such a big shopping day in london. even a transit strike isn't keeping bargain hunters from stam paiding stores. cnn's erin mclaugh lynn is live in london. there has been trouble there. a fatal stabbing. >> reporter: twelve occurred outside the foot locker on oxford street. that is one of the major shopping thoroughfares here in london. we understand that the victim was in his late teens to early 20s. we don't really know the circumstances around this particular stabbing. the police are still investigating the incident. i was at the scene just a few hours ago and from what i could tell there was a man being led

away in handcuffs. there were other arrests we understand from police as well. they had blocked off the area which is creating quite a bit of congestion on what is an extremely busy street on boxing day. >> i want to ask you about the congestion. i was surprised to see the shoppers storming the stores in some video you sent earlier. there's a transit strike going on. the tube isn't running. i can't imagine london without that easy transport access. >> reporter: absolutely, drew. the tube, they rely on that. that is the underground subway system. we rely on it to get around. i know my morning commute was interrupted by the limited service. shoppers still made it out to the stors, whether by foot or bus. london is offering 200 more buses to its service today. when the stores opened up it was quite the scene as shoppers stormed through the stores. chance to get luxury discounts.

they sell luxury goods in london. we talked to some of the shoppers that were brave enough to take to the stores today. this is what they had to say. >> actually, we were quite lucky. we came around the side entrance. we found a big void. that was quite handy. i did see quite a bit of a crush going on at the beginning. >> reporter: you missed out on the sales last year. >> we thought it was worth our while getting up early this morning. >> most of it is half price. >> we've been doing it since the '70s. it's a family tradition more or less, coming to the sale. especially the handbags. very good value. >> i've been shopping from south africa because of the exchange rate it's very affordable. >> in our country everything is out of stock. i came here to find some pieces i can't find in our country. the sales are huge. >> reporter: for some of those shoppers that may have been deferred by lack of transportation here in london,

tomorrow is yet another bank holiday here. the tube will be fully operational. they'll have a chance to get some of the discounts. >> thanks a lot for that view in england. hackers caused chaos for a texas-based intelligence firm. we'll tell you how and why. ♪ sen♪ co-signed her credit card - "buy books, not beer!" ♪ ♪ut the second at she shut the door ♪ ♪ girl started blowing up their credit score ♪ ♪ she bought a pizza party for the whole dorm floor ♪ ♪ hundred pounds of makeup at the makeup store ♪ ♪ and a ticket down to spring break in mexico ♪ ♪ but her folks didn't know 'cause her folks didn't go ♪ ♪ to free-credit-score-dot-com hard times for daddy and mom. ♪

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106-year-old stock broker. what he's learned in all of that time working on wall street. later, a preview of the republican field's first true test. the iowa caucuses a week and a day away. at 11:45 eastern a growing medical emergency is happening in india. 10,000 doctors are on strike. first let's tell you about this hacking story. hackers compromising the security of a global intelligence company based in austin, texas. they claim to have information from 4,000 credit cards as well as the company's private client list. this company provides information on global security issues. most recently they released intelligence on iraq. johnable from wire.com is in new york. how serious is this breach? >> well, you know, it's one of the many, many, many such breaches which have occurred in the past year or so. not terribly serious. they went in, got some personal

details, got some credit card numbers and they playfully used them. this sort of thing happens a lot these days. it's just another notch in the belt of these pranksters. >> i happen to know this company a bit and i get some of their e-mails and alerts. why would hackers target them specifically? >> you know, you never quite know what the reason is. stratfor is in the business of providing geo political information. the latest information from the state department, the information is given to both the general public in a broadway and very specifically in their e-mails that people pay for. in a sense they are in the security business and so that makes them kind of a ripe target forehead line purposes, i guess. >> when this first happened we all thought that it was the group anonymous that was doing this. now it may be another group. have you learned anything about that? >> no.

you know, these are very efemoral. they call themselves all sorts of things. people gravitate. the groups don't really matter. it's just sort of a hard core collection of people that find this sort of thing funny and amusing. whatever they call themselves is almost immaterial. >> john, we did reach out to the company, stratfor. i want to read you this statement. we've learned that stratfor's website was hacked but an unauthorized party as a result of this incident. the operations have been suspended. we have reason to believe that the names of our corporate subscribers have been posted on other websites. we're diligently investigating the extent to which subscriber information may have been obtained. i believe that's related to some financial questions as well. john, what are they trying to -- what are any hackers trying to accomplish when they do something like this? >> generally there's two

reasons. depending on the circumstance one may be greater than the other. it's usually to embarrass the target, to say, hey, you call yourself safe and secure and you're not. sometimes it is utterly sort of criminal effect, to steal credit card numbers identifying information so that the global black market id, to feed that sort of beast. i think in this case it's more of an embarrassment sort of thing. there's reports that they used some of the credit card numbers to make charitable donations. they want to embarrass stratfor and out some of their private client lists who may or may not want people to know that they subscribe to the newsletters. so it's probably more embarrassment than feedery. >> let's end the embarrassment,

john. appreciate you coming in on this day after christmas. you're probably not thinking about next year's tax returns yet, but tax time is just april 15th. a finance expert will tell you how you can -- what you can do now actually to save on the tax bill next year. and we all wish for a happy and healthy new year. one can i tri has a big head start. who was named number one in the new list of the most prosperous countries in the world. here's your choices, germany, united states, norway, or japan? the answer in a moment.

okay. what is the most prosperous nation in the world? germany, the u.s., or japan, norway? the answer is norway. they say they have the best of both worlds, wealth and well-being. so where did the united states rank? not too shappy, number 10. we'll take it. it is the day after christmas. one of the last things on your mind is next year's tax return, but there are things you can do now to reduce the amount of money you give to the irs. joining us with some of the end-of-the year payments. let's start with income and expenses.

it is not too late to do something. >> no. >> what's the number one thing you can do. >> it depends on your situation. a lot of people might be receiving bonuses. this is a great time to talk to your employer and see if i can defer that bonus until january. i don't have that income i have to count until next year. that helps your position from that standpoint. that's one of the things that you can do. >> one of the other tricks of the trade is to pay your january mortgage now to get some of that interest, right? >> a lot of people say why pay the january mortgage now? a great way to do it, because you have the interest that you're paying. a lot of people want to write off that interest. again, it reduces the amount of income you've made for 2011. if your mortgage company allows you, pay that mortgage payment in advance. then you don't have the interest. you can include the interest now instead of counting it for next year. >> the one thing that you are mentioning that i didn't really think about because we have so many entrepreneurs now, so many contract employees and people just doing work on the side because maybe they're out of work, they're doing contract jobs, don't send out your bills yet. >> yeah. the name of the game right now

really again, you've got this income that you've made this year. that's going to be additional income coming in that you have to pay taxes on. think ahead. let me bill some of these clients for january even though the work was done now in 2011. i'll bill them in january and i'll get that income for next year. >> we always talk about taxes this time of year for april 15th. >> exactly. >> is there anything you can think of that i can do for april 15th, 2013 that i should be thinking about? be a little more long-term strategy. >> some of these strategies that we're talking about work. if you start to think about it now, plan out next year. think about the ira. a great thing to do is contribute to an ira. it's a great tool. taxes are deferred. it's a great way to minimize your taxes or the amount of income you're having. if you're 50 and below, you can do $5,000. if you're 50 and above, you can

do $6,000. >> now is a good time to figure out how much did i put in, did i maximize that contribution to make sure i get the best bang for my buck? >> exactly. they start to work to put it into place for now. >> we didn't wait until the last minute. it's december 26th. we have a whole week. >> we're ahead of the game. >> thanks a lot. it has been a terrible three or four years for the housing market, but some experts say things are settling down. does that mean 2012 is the year to buy a house? cnn spoke with "money magazine's" amanda gingler about it. >> hopefully 2012 will bring good news for the housing market and prices will finally stabilize. prices dropped another 5% or so nationwide in 2011 and economists are forecasting that to reverse course in 2012. they're expecting a 95% of the nation's -- pretty much most of

the country will actually see a slielt uptick in prices. now i should emphasize the word slight because they're predicting a .25% increase for 2012. basically consumers will feel that prices are going to stabilize and stop falling. so if you're gearing up to buy a home, 2012 will be a great year. you have cheap prices, record low mortgage rates. most places there's very little competition. you want to focus on smaller homes in areas that are close to restaurants, retail stores because those mcmansions that have the that were coveted during the boon aren't in demand. when it goes time to sell you will have an easier time to unload a home that's not 3500 square feet way out in the outskirts. the race in iowa is a dead heat eight days before the caucuses. ron paul is still in the hunt.

we'll talk about his chances ahead. ♪ making your way in the world today ♪ ♪ takes everything you've got ♪ wouldn't you like to get away? ♪ ♪ ♪ sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name ♪ ♪ ♪ you want to be where you can see ♪ ♪ our troubles are all the same ♪ ♪ you want to go where everybody knows your name ♪ ♪

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well, finally the first votes in the 2012 presidential race are just a week away now. we're talking about the iowa caucuses. paul steinhauser, live from des moines. paul, the latest polls shows a dead heat and ron paul at the time. >> reporter: ron paul at the top. you're right. it is a three-way traffic jam i guess you could say, drew, right now with eight days to go. a little windy here. i'm not wearing a coat. it is in the 40s right now. there's no snow. very warm. i want to show you this. look at this, this is the "des moines register." could ron paul win? i guess isurpri. 's got a lot of enthusiastic supporters here. he's got a lot of people to come out and vote for him in this caucus which kicks off the primary caucus calendar. drew, a lot of people are saying four years ago when ron paul

ran, maybe he was the extreme candidate. now people are saying that a lot of the republican party has come to ron paul on some of the issues. it is the buzz of iowa right now. >> let me ask you a question, paul. if ron paul does win iowa, what does it mean when he heads into new hampshire where he's right now way down in the polls against mitt romney? >> is there going to be a significant enough bump to get him across that new hampshire poll? >> reporter: listen, four years ago a guy called mike huckabee, the former arkansas governor, he pulled an upset and won in iowa. did he win new hampshire? no. that's the thing about iowa, it doesn't always pick the eventual nominee. what it does do is weed out the field. we may see some of the candidates a little lower down in single digits, if they don't do so well, that may be the end of their campaigns. another thing some people are saying is if ron paul wins the iowa caucuses, it could diminish

the influence of caucuses to in years to come. >> i did look at the forecast, paul. it looks like eight days away it won't be bad at all. 39 degrees for a high. huckabee, you're speaking about governor huckabee, he predicted if the weather is fine, romney will win. >> reporter: yeah. here's why. as we said, ron paul supporters are going to come out even if there's a blizzard. they'll get out there to be with their candidate. maybe some of the supporters of the other candidates like mitt romney are a little more fair weather, that could help a mitt romney. romney hasn't spent a lot of time here in iowa campaigning. in the last couple weeks he's been up with ads. independent super pac that's behind him is flooding the air waves with ads. newt gingrich is no longer the

front-runner. it is a three way battle now. >> let me ask you about one more candidate. rick santorum. one of the single digit guys you talked about. possibly he could be weeded out after this. he's still plugging away. what's he up to? >> reporter: he's still plugging agway. in fact, today he's the only candidate on the campaign trail. it's a federal holiday. everybody is laying low except for rick santorum. a couple of hours from now he'll be pheasant hunting with some prominent conservatives in iowa. i've learned that one of those people is congressman steve king of northwest iowa. some people say he's a king maker here. he has not endorsed yet. he may not. we're going to keep our eyes on that event. we'll see what happens. >> paul, appreciate it. good job there in iowa. this reminder that tune in a week from tomorrow for the country's first real votes at the candidates' first true test.

america's choice live coverage of the iowa caucuses begins tuesday night, january 3rd, 7:00 eastern. he's been following the action on wall street for 80 years. >> i was very lucky being born in 1905. i was just in time for a lot of new technologies, radio, television. we're going to hear from the 106-year-old stock broker about all of those changes that he's seen. m on top of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis

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a doctor strike in india leads to panic and chaos at hospitals. there's about 10,000 doctors on strike. they're fighting for more pay and promotion. now there's a rush to hire more than 1,000 military doctors. trying to fill the gap. sarah is on the phone. she is following this story live. this strike started six days ago, sarah. does that mean the state hospitals are closed because there's no doctors working there? >> reporter: no, but it does mean that there are far fewer doctors available and medical staff available at the hospitals. what has happened in some of the hospitals that we saw ourselves, went into a hospital that was rural which is very different from the hospital that's here in the capitol, the largest city. we saw in the rural hospital not a single doctor in that

hospital. it was completely empty. even when patients came in, they had to go right back out because there was really no doctor there to give them any medical advice. on the wall it was written that the doctors were not taking any appointments. they were told by the main nurse that the doctors had actually gone into hiding for fear of being arrested. now here at the big hospital, one of the main hospitals in the capitol, what we saw was also a bit disturbing but also heartening. i say that because 1,000 doctors apparently left this particular hospital. patients are saying they're fighting over the amount of money that they're being paid, some of the benefits they say they deserve and are not getting. 1,000 doctors left the hospital, left the patients here. the patients say the fight between the doctors and the government is killing their loved ones. there are not enough doctors to care for the patients. what has happened here that we have witnessed ourselves today is that 300 doctors from a neighboring medical college have decided to come over and work

this hospital. they are taking emergency patients only but at least they're treating patients who have life threatening depress diseases. they can't handle much else. they're doing the best they can. we're talking about a hospital that gets more than 400 people per day in the emergency room alone, drew. >> sara, i have a been reading. there have been disputes on whether any of the striking doctors have -- or the lack of doctors have caused deaths. has that been confirmed by any government agency or group, that the lack of doctors has led to certain number of patients who have died? >> reporter: that is absolutely being denied by the state health department. they have denied that. so has the health minister himself here in the state. he has denied that saying that they do not believe that a single death has occurred because of the lack of doctors. what they will say is there is a gross amount of doctors who are not there. they need more doctors in these

hospitals, and they are working hard to try and get doctors to come into the hospitals. they're even making deals with the private hospitals trying to get the private hospitals to take some of these patients. the government says they will pay government rates to the private hospitals to allow patients to come in. i do want to make one point. state hospitals are so important in states around this country because this is where the majority of people who get treatment because treatment for the most part is free. so the impoverished people of this country often use these state hospitals to get medical care, otherwise, they simply can't afford it. >> sara reporting. very late at night there. appreciate that. he's been following the wild swings in the stock market since before the great depression. still at it today. poppy harlow sat down with this guy talking shop with a 106-year-old stock broker. >> reporter: wall street 80 years ago. who was there?

irving kahn. >> reporter: when were you born? >> december 19th, 1905. >> reporter: he rang the opening bell at the new york stock exchange on his 100th birthday. that was six years ago. >> reporter: how has wall street changed? >> well, when i got to the street it was much more a rich man's game, not that i was rich, but, i mean, it was designed for banks, for insurance companies, or railroads, or public utilities. it's no longer a rich man's business. it's a business for everybody. >> reporter: do you still watch the stock market very closely every day? >> well, i have the billboard which is right here. i don't watch it because i'm not a trader. >> reporter: you're a value investor? >> right. i stick to the 20 odd stocks

that i hold. >> reporter: who is your idol, irving. >> van graham. >> reporter: that's warren buffet's idol. >> a lot of people wish they could do what he did. >> he works every day. >> reporter: what do you think is to thank for your father's s fact that he has an office to go to and a job and responsibilities is extremely important. >> do you think that you will live to be as old as your father has so far? >> well, let me ask -- >> and do you want to? you didn't always have bloomberg terminals. right? >> no. i was very lucky being born in 1905. i was just in time for a lot of new technologies. radio, television. >> do you have a cell phone now? >> yes, i do. i don't use it much except to remind myself what my number is.

>> but irv doesn't think technology necessarily makes things easier when he looks at the gadgets his grandson andrew uses. >> he also has to know how to work his -- whach ma call it, blackberry. >> you've been sounding off on our "talk back" question. should betting on a presidential race be legal. derivatives exchange is asking permission to offer trading on the 2012 election. that means could you win or lose money based on who wins the race, if approved, that would be the first time that wagering on elections would be federally regulated. here's the responses so far. dahlia -- it's bad enough that no one listens to the people. if they want to gamble, let them. either way the economy is going to hell. albert says, american politics have become so unpredictable due

to the partisanship, brinksmanship, betting on political outputs would only bring more of the same because everybody wants to be a winner and some will even cheat to win. derek -- just what we need. another incentive to rig elections. this one -- no. money, property and prestige has corrupted our country enough already. gambling is still destructive. >> more of your responses in the next hour. for thousands of americans, this year's holiday travels are life changing. they are u.s. troops coming home after completing their mission in iraq. cnn photojournalist mike green and barry schlegel captured some of the sights and sounds of their long awaited homecoming. >> welcome home, air force. >> the families are really the power behind the warrior. so thank you very much, because it is your sacrifice and service

that makes this all worth while and makes it all possible. >> well thank you for bringing him home safely. >> the families need to hear that we appreciate as senior leaders their sacrifice and service. this is the end of 8 1/2 years of combat and training the iraqi forces after combat. but it is really the end of 21 years of involvement in iraq. operation desert shield, desert storm, northern watch, southern watch, provide comfort, desert fox, "operation iraqi freedom," operation new dawn. and that's the real message to america is, this is not just the end of 8 1/2 years. it is 21 years of involvement in that country. >> you're the last guy. what do you think? >> i think i'm glad to be back in the good old u.s. of a. >> newt gingrich says it was his first wife who wanted to end his first marriage but court documents tell a different story. i'd race down that hill without a helmet.

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the nba kicked off its season on christmas. the chicago bulls and the l.a. lakers went right down to the wire. the bulls' derek rose getting that shot. kobe bryant came back with a chance to win but his shot right there -- at the buzzer. the nba lockout was just one of many sports controversies of

2011. >> to call the 2011 sports year tumultuous is an understatement and nowhere was that more evident than in college sports. ohio state froofootball players. sold and traded mem yeah orabil tattoos. at penn state the transgressions were far worse. >> jerry sandusky is charged with molesting eight boys. >> where were the authorities? >> this is not a case about football. it is not a case about universities. it is case about children who have had their innocence stolen from them. >> a child sex abuse scandal involving former penn state assistant coach jar require sandusky resulted in the firing of head coach joe paterno and a legacy six decades in the making is now in shambles. berfy fine, an assistant basketball coach at syracuse for the past 36 years, was fired

after allegations emerged that he molested children. in the nfl and nba we saw owners and players fighting over billions of dollars while the rest of the country suffers through economic hardship. and there was tragedy on the racetrack when indy car driver dan wheldon was part of a 15-car crash which cost the 33-year-old husband and father of two his life. we also said good-bye to smokin' joe frasier, one of the greatest heavyweight champs of all time. but amidst all the darkness, there were stories and athletes to celebrate. packers quarterback aaron rodgers emerging from the shadow of brett favre to lead green bay to a super bowl title. dirk know visitssky a player from germany taking the dallas mavs to its first nba title against a team that featured two of the nba's biggest stars. a 33-year-old head coach leading 11th seed virginia commonwealth university to the final four. college basketball's grandest stage. a 21-year-old from northern

ireland named rory mcilroy who won the u.s. open and made many ask -- tiger who? not to be outdone, alexie thompson wam the youngest player to ever win an lpga tournament. who could forget the story of david frees, a kid who agree up in st. louis, rooting for the cardinals and leading them to a world sheer riz championship, his performance earning him the series mvp. those are some of the stories that reminded us why we watch. mark mckay, cnn, atlanta. top of the hour now. i'm grew griffin in for suzanne malveaux on this day after christmas. let's get you up to speed on our top stories. newt gingrich's past personal life under scrutiny again because of his presidential campaign. court documents obtained by cnn contradict what gingrich has been saying about his divorce from his first wife. he says his wife then jackie wanted tend to the marriage.

document shoeld gingrich filed that complaint. details ahead in a live report. a week and a day until the iowa caucuses. the layest poll a three-way dead heat. ron paul, mitt romney and newt gingrich. the american research group poll is showing ron paul at 21%, romney at 20%, and gingrich is at 19%. the other candidates lagging behind in single digits. more arab league observers are on their way to syria. here's why. an opposition group says security forces killed more than 20 people in the city of homs today. observers plan to go there tomorrow. the u.n. says more than 5,000 people have died since syria's crackdown on protests began in march. a suicide car bomb in iraq got through six security checkpoints before setting off an explosion at the interior ministry. at least five people killed, 39 wounded. this happened after iraq's prime minister met with the senior security officials there to talk

about how to keep the country safe. a series of explosion killed 70 people in baghdad last week. a christmas gift for basketball fans. nba season beginning after months long of a lockout. dispute that kept them locked offense was over revenue sharing. it ended with a virtual 50%-50% split between the owners and the players. more now on our top story. court documents that contradict what newt gingrich has been saying about his divorce from his first wife, jackie. he says he wanted to end the marriage. court papers obtained by cnn tell a different story. cnn story allan duke dug up the paperwork from the divorce and he joins us along with political editor paul steinhauser. what do the documents show? >> these documents show us that jackie, his first wife, did not want the divorce, which is interesting because this year the newt gingrich campaign has

come out with this new defense about that divorce. it's been very controversial for three decades. i was covering it back when it was happening and it was controversial because people questioned the way that newt was handling his divorce from his first wife. well, what newt started saying this year in his campaign -- told us in a just statement this weekend was in fact it was jackie who requested the divorce and that was somewhat surprising to people who know her because they say it didn't happen. so we went, found the court records, and after some trouble -- because they were stashed away in the court clerk's desk as they were told to protect them. but what we found in fact was a petition, a response from jackie gingrich which i'll read from, says, "defendant shows that she has adequate and ample ground for divorce but she does not desire one at this time." while the gingrich is campaign is telling us now it was the first wife who asked newt gingrich for the divorce, these court documents show that's not the case. >> people who want to look through this online can find details in your reporting.

>> yes, it should be available about now. full story with interviews and the actual court documents that we found at the carroll county georgia krocourthouse in a file stashed in a drawer this week. >> paul, this divorce has been much talked about for years and years an years and nitpicked over. does it really matter anymore? i mean it was a messy divorce. he's talked about the divorce. is he getting any political traction there in iowa or do you anticipate it will? >> well, listen. he's been married three times now, drew. he's admitted to having an affair with his current wife when he was still married with his second wife. it's been a story line for newt gingrich since he jumped into this race for the white house in the spring. this is an abc/"washington post" poll from just a week ago and it asked is gingrich's marital history, three times, is that a factor in your vote for the white house, for the gop nomination? 72% say not a major factor. this is of republicans who are likely to vote in the primaries and caucuses.

but drew, here in iowa and also in south carolina which is the third state to hold a contest, social conservative voters are more prominent in republican circles, and with them it could be an issue. this morning i was speaking to a prominent social conservative leader here who likes gingrich, like his stances on the issues. but he brought up the marriages and that can be a problem for some voters here. we've seen it come up in the debates, drew. we've seen newt gingrich acknowledge that he's made mistakes in the past and that he's gone to god for forgiveness. yes, it can be a factor with some voters especially here in virginia and in south carolina. >> i'll reach out to both of you guys. have we heard back from the gingrich campaign at all? >> we got an e-mail from them on sunday saying that they're standing by the point that newt gingrich is the one who asked for the -- that jackie gingrich asked for the divorce. they're standing by that despite what the court documents say. what they're saying is that these divorce papers were actually filed by newt gingrich

at her request but that is not what people who were there contemporaneously are telling us now. >> nitty-gritty online. paul, to you, any reaction at all from the brich campaign? are they likely to react to this? >> other than what they've told alan and a few others, probably not. they don't want this to be the story line this week. the gingrich campaign wants to come out strong tomorrow in iowa, talk about the economy and jobs and contrast themselves with mitt romney and ron paul and other candidates. this is the last thing they want to have to deal with again, drew. >> paul steinhauser in iowa, thank you. alan duke, thanks for breaking the story. it is online right now. check it out. tune in a week for tomorrow for the country's first veal votes and the candidates' first real test. live coverage of the iowa caucuses beginning tuesday night january 3rd, 7:00 eastern.

here's your chance to "talk back" on one of our bigger stories of the day. we want to know, do you think that betting on a presidential race should be legal? here's the story. a derivatives exchange is asking for permission to offer trading, as they call it, on the 2012 election. you could win money based on who wins the election. idea is to treat these candidates' campaigns like companies. sfok fa stock failures would rise and fall and investors would be making money. here's our question -- do you think it should be allowed? should betting on a presidential race be legal? join that conversation on facebook. post comments on suzanne malveaux's page, facebook.co facebook.com/suzannecnn. mexican authorities arrest the alleged security chief of the most wanted suspected drug lord in mexico. and new attacks in syria have

left dozens dead there. how much money would you put on president obama winning? a company is asking to legalize betting on the presidential race. later, the end of the year isn't just about holiday parties. important money deadlines coming up. we'll help you keep track of them. o it enters the bloodstream fast and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain. it's proven to relieve pain twice as fast as before. bayer advanced aspirin.

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mexican authorities say they've made a huge arrest in the violent drug war they've been fighting there. they have caught the alleged security chief for the drug lord known as el chapo. why is it a big deal? this is a security chief but he is more than that. >> he is more than that. let me begin very basically. think of al capone in the 1920s and '30s. multiply his level of cruelty by 100 and his money by a million and that's mexico's el chapo today. he's that kind of a guy and he's wanted both in mexico and the united states. this morning mexican authorities

introduced to the mexican media a guy -- what we see right now is el chapo but the guy who was arrested is one of his top lieutenants. some people say the only way to get to el chapo was by targeting his inner circle. this guy was not only in charge of drug trafficking in the mexican state of durango but some say he was also in charge of providing security for el chapo. let's listen to one of the spokesmen for the mexican army who describes how he operated in that part of mexico. >> translator: the violence that he used to maintain control of his criminal activities was a factor that helped him become more important within the organization of el chapo guzman. he was a key operative in the organization's drug trafficking activities and even became responsible for providing security to this drug lord and his area of operation in the mountains of durango.

>> drew, i was telling you he one one of part of the inner circle. but to give you an idea how powerful el chapo, this year he is number 55 on the list of the most powerful people in the world with a fortune estimated at $1 billion. regardless of where the money came from, that's a lot of money. the u.s. is offering a $5 million reward and also mexico, a $2 million reward. and again as you can imagine, he is also the most wanted man in mexico. >> if you look at our video closely enough, guzman was under arrest. he was arrested. "shorty" is his nickname. >> that's right. somebody's going to make a movie out of his life one day. he was arrested back in 1993 in mexico. in 2001 he escaped from a federal prison in mexico in a laundry cart and ever since authorities in both mexico and the united states have been after him. there are rumors that he got

married with an 18-year-old in a mexican state in 2007 but nobody can confirm that. and even that he has moved to a different country to costa rica. but nothing seems to come close to him being caught. >> well, the mexican government is series about this. i hope they find him and chase him down. thanks a lot, rafael. stories making news across the country -- investigators are trying to figure out what set off this house fire in connecticut. it happened on christmas morning and it was deadly. two adults and three children died in that home. two people made it out alive. there's been a big find at the bottom of the ocean. a group of scuba divers spotted this plane off the coast of florida. it could have been in the water for decades, maybe a world war ii era plane. someone in maryland hit the jackpot, reynold! not us, but good luck to them. $125 million in the powerball lottery. winner called the store,

confirmed he had the ticket -- or she -- but that person has not come forward just yet sglp it is a christmas miracle. >> good for them. whoever they are. no know here in atlanta. no big frost travel problems across the country. >> you're absolutely right. last year we had a very difficult time travelwise but today just a few minor headaches and one headache that's coming especially in parts of the pacific northwest. let's get to it. the big eye sore that we have weather wise around the country happens to be right here in parts of the gulf coast. i'd say from new orleans, the big easy northward to just south of st. louis you're going to be seeing some scattered showers. memphis, cape girardeau, the rain will be falling through a good part of the day. farther back to the west, things pretty nice across portions of the central plains. life is beautiful in dallas, mix of sunshine and clouds. phoenix, scottsdale, great. most of the west coast looks

good with one exception. in the pacific northwest a huge storm system will make its way into vancouver, seattle and even into the cascades. in the highest elevations a lot of it will switch over to snow. it won't just be one little wave coming through, it is a plume of moisture that extends all the way down to the pacific and this atmosphere conveyor belt is going to continue this onslaught for possibly days to come. there is a chance we could see some flooding in the low lying areas but again the snow pack will be deeper for parts of the bitter roots of montana and up toward sun valley in idaho, it is going to be pure police for you. just beautiful conditions. in terms of temperatures, across the landscape, for partisan of the northeast, just lovely in washington, d.c. boston, new york, mainly 40s for highs in most spots. atlanta, 53 degrees. 47 memphis. denver, 40. the higher up you go, the colder

it will be. any drives from seattle back towards maybe even spokane, you'll see snow in the high mountain passes. 70 in los angeles, beautiful. maybe a little bit of marine layer by tomorrow morning. later on in the day it will be just fine. 48 in dallas. 50 in houston. 77 in tampa. miami with 79. that's the expected high. something else we can also anticipate with the rain that has been falling in parts of the gulf coast, much of this will be moving into parts of the southeast. if you plan on sticking around atlanta for another day or so with hopes of flying out tomorrow with no problems? you might have some back-ups at all the major airports along the eastern seaboard all stemming from this system right here in parts of arkansas and into louisiana for the time being. you're up to speed with the forecast. more coming up. let's send it back to drew. tensions rise in syria. take a look at this.

this is the government's brutal crackdown there. a live report coming up. on my j, i've learned that when you ask someone in texas if they want "big" savings on car insurance, it's a bit like asking if they want a big hat... ...'scuse me... ...or a big steak... ...or big hair... i think we have our answer. geico. fifteen minutes could save you

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arab league observers are heading to syria today. their visit comes as several attacks have left dozens of people dead there. >> reporter: as the syrian government crackdown intensifies, the first of a small group of outside observers is beginning to arrive in damascus. we have no idea if the arab league observers will be able to get close to the scenes of violence to continue to pour out of syria. here a tank rolls down a street. a neighborhood in the flash

point city of hams. activists say thousands of syrian troops have recently surrounded it and are shelling it almost daily. cnn can't verify many of the videos posted from syria, but one homs residents described the carnage he's witnessed, explaining how everyone has become a target. in the past week, the syrian government's bombardment has escalated. the same day a protocol was signed allowing those arab league observers into syria. activists say activists stormed a town. this video shows family members

mourning loved ones who died in a massacre. many even fear to burley their dead in public cemeteries. in this video taken in november, some buried their loved ones near a deserted road. at a hospital, one injured demonstrators lays in his bed and tells of the who are roars he's seen. "i seen wounded people taken by security forces with their oxygen masks still on," he says. another man described a crackdown he experienced. "i was injured by gunfire in a protest," he says. "security forces fired on us and injured many youth and one was killed. i went to a hospital and was treated." with many syrian neighborhoods deserted and beseiged, many people are now questioning how effective the arab league observers' mission will be. >> mohammed joins us live from

cairo. what is the latest we're hearing from homs today? >> reporter: drew, the words we're hearing most from opposition activists in syria today are bloodbath and massacre. we're told by opposition activists that at least 23 people died today in homs. we're seeing very disturbing videoed posted on social sites like youtube. one purports to show a street with houses coming under attack from the syrian regime as people in those houses scream out "god is great." another one purports to show a tank rolling through the streets of homs with a soldier on top of the tank shooting. activists on the ground in syria are very, very concern. they believe that if something isn't done soon to stop this, that a genocide could occur. >> you've said that we can't verify these videos, but they seem pretty legitimate to us, otherwise we wouldn't be putting them on the air.

5,000 people dead since march, according to the u.n. and now the arab league observers are going to go in there. my question is, for a lot of us who don't understand the region, what will these observers be able to do? are they just going to be led around by the nose by the government showing them what they can and cannot see, and will they be able to stop any of this violence? >> reporter: drew, that's the key question. the protocol signed between the arab league and the syrian government stipulated that these monitors would be able to go in, that the syrian government would end the violence, that the military would be withdrawn from cities and towns and that detainees would be released. right now many people in syria are asking how effective the arab league will be. the arab league has said today they will be going to towns where reported massers can haac happened. but no one actually trusts the

syrian regime to take these people to where the crackdowns are occurring and they are concerned these observers won't be given unfettered access. the arab league seems optimistic they'll be able to do what they need to do. but activists and opposition groups within syria are very much concerned. they say even on a day when these team members are supposed to arrive, this brutal crackdown is continuing and only escalating. >> it just seems like the government of syria doesn't care whether or not the arab league observers show up or not. i'm just wondering how strong a presence the arab league will be able to push on the assad government to get them to stop this violence. are they going to have any influence? >> again, nobody really knows at this point. the arab league has been repeatedly criticized by opposition groups, by syrian opposition groups, for being an ineffective body. many people within syria were mocking the arab league even as they were arriving calling this protocol that they signed with the syrian government a protocol

of blood, because they believe assad will not do anything to stop this crackdown that's been going on, that the activists say is going on. now at a time when so many human rights groups are condemning the al asad regime, when the u.n. is saying 5,000 people have died, other groups are saying 6,000 people have died in the months long crackdown, will this arab league group with about 50 to 100 members be able to do much? no one knows at this point. the arab league hopes they will but a lot of people inside syria don't think they'll be very effective. a few days ago when an advance team was in syria, meeting with officials in damascus, car bombs went off. the syrian government alleged al qaeda was there, that they were target th syrian government. activist groups we spoke with in syria say this was awfully convenient, that it fit the narrative bashar al asaid has been trying to tell the world, that there is terrorism he's fighting within syria, he was trying to convince the arab league and those observers that he must crackdown in the country

to prevent terrorism. activists we spoke with say there is no al qaeda or terrorism in syria and they say the arab league should not believe the claims of the al asad regime who claim he is legitimately fighting terrorists within syria. >> very interesting story, moment. thank you so much. if you want to read more about the intricacies of this syrian situation, up on our website right now, cnn.com, is a story about president al asad's wife. people bet on everything from horse races to football games. but how about the outcome of a presidential election? there is a request now to the federal government to regulate betting on presidential politics. you're talking about it and so are we, just ahead.

the stories we're working on. next, you've heard about people legally betting on games, but what about political elections? a new year can also mean a good start. how to avoid financial stumbling blocks. and later we'll look at some of the best i-reports that came to us from around the world. some say that politics is a gamble anyway.

now a chicago firm wants permission to let people bet on the outcome of major political races, the same way they bet on corn or wheat futures. tim mcdermott is with the company that's pushing the idea. he joins us from chicago. and to talk about the political implications, larry from the center for politics at the university of virginia joins us from charlottesville. tim, start with you. i got to tell you, this sounds -- >> thanks for having me. >> appreciate you coming on. this sounds just like gambling in another word. how does this work and is it gambling? >> it is not gambling. financial markets have existed for a long time and actually political election markets have existed for a long time. currently they exist in unregulated markets and we're looking to bring those markets into the regulated space here in the united states. >> how would you do it though? fy want to invest in a candidate -- is that what you're calling it? what would happen? >> sure.

well, the nadex exchange offers online electronic trading and a platform -- regulated platform here in the united states for people to trade. so people can open an account with nadex, they can deposit funds into their account, and with at least $100 in their account they can begin trading our contracts. some of the contracts we offer are financial contracts, metals contracts, various commodity contracts, foreign currency contracts. we are now talking about offering political election contracts for people to trade as well. >> after the election, now we know the results are in -- what do i have? i don't have a continuing market to be invested in. it seems like it all just evaporates into thin air. >> sure. it is actually just like a corn contract that expires on a certain date. our political election contracts will expire on a particular date. and they settle as of the election and if a person bought the contract for the candidate

who won, that person would receive $100 per contract and the person who sold that same contract would lose the amount they had invested in that contract. >> so there would be a buyer and seller for each of these contracts. >> exactly. it is just like any other market where you have buyers and sellers coming together, they each have a view of the market, and when their prices match, a trade occur and that trade occurs on -- in this case -- a regulated exchange. >> larry, based on your record in the past you could be a very rich man if this goes through. are you buying this? does this sound like a good idea to you? >> well, it's perfectly legitimate. as i understand it, it doesn't violate any election rules. it is certainly a form of betting. it is gambling of a sort. but then most things connected to the stock market and connected markets seem like gambling to me. it is another way for you to lose your money. i suppose you could win money as

well. look, there are a lot of people who shouldn't participate if this including reporters and editors and non-partisan pundits and analysts. i think once this thing gets going, a legitimate question to ask every reporter and every pundit is are you betting on the results of the election. because if you are, seems to me you have a direct conflict of interest and the specter of bias can be raised. >> tim, i'm going to get back to you in a second. larry, to continue that thought, is it possible somehow or another that there could be rigging going on here for the financial outcome of this nadex trading that's going to be going on? >> did you say rigging? >> i did. >> oh, i wouldn't call it rigging. look, they claim, as i understand it, that this is going to be suggestive of the final election results. maybe it will be, maybe it won't. any election analyst who relies on a single method of prediction, a sing number, is going to be wrong a lot.

so i certainly wouldn't encourage people to look at this alone. they may look at it in terms of lots of different numbers from polling to the opinions of experts, to the reporters in the field. >> tim, let me ask you. you need government approval to do this. are you likely to get that in the short amount of time we have before -- i mean basically the election season -- hard election season opens a week and a day from today with the iowa caucuses. >> yes, it does. drew, we filed the proposed rules with the idea that we would begin offering the contracts hopefully as soon as yan january 4th, the day after the iowa caucuses. we think that these markets actually are totally consistent with the cftc's mandate and what congress said in their recent financial regulations. we're trying to move markets that currently exist. there are markets that offer these contracts. the in-trade market, for

example, based out of ireland but which has a lot of participation from the united states. we want to give people that are trading those contracts on an irish trading platform a regulated u.s. market where they can trade that same kind of contract in a regulated place. and we think that it is important because the information that those markets generate, they really aggregate a lot of information an generate very good, accurate results. we think that those markets shouldn't be coming from an offshore overseas unregulated trading platform. that information should really come from a regulated exchange in the united states. >> larry, i don't think anybody's been more accurate in predicting outcomes of elections than you have, especially over the last couple of elections. are you likely -- if this market does open up and the -- trying to say this without saying gambling now -- the trading begins, are you likely to look at this as a political predictor for what the outcam may or may not be?

do you think this will have any scientific bearing on your polling? >> i'll certainly look at it, but i'll look at 100 different variables. and some will matter much more to me in predicting elections, including the state of the economy and that sort of thing. that matters to me a lot more than ntrade or this particular index but it will certainly be one of many variables an certainly anyone will mpolitics will take a look at it. but don't base the outcome of an election on a single poll. >> we'll follow this if and when you do get the okay. are you looking for the okay by next week, right? >> we hope to hear something in the next week or so and it the cftc has an obligation to look at rules that are filed and we're sure they'll do that and we'll hear what they have to say. >> good conversation, guys.

take care. we've been asking for your opinions now. i'm saying it is betting. should betting on a presidential race be legal. join conversation on facebook, post comments on suzanne's page. facebook.com/suzannecnn. we're going to share some of your responses in just a few machines. maybe they'll change after that discussion. this reminder -- tune in a week from now. there will be no betting. there will be actually voting. real candidates getting real votes in the first true test in iowa. america's choice 2012. live coverage of the iowa caucuses tuesday night, january 3rd, 7:00 eastern. here's a wine with a cause. the california winery that's getting noticed for much more than its taste. r favorite but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma

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a historic california winery is good for your heart in many ways. in today's "giving in focus," how one man's passion for the grape and philanthropy helped define eller's estate winery. >> eller's estate is a special place because of the land, first and foremost. this is right in the heart of napa valley and some of the very, very best primo aaa call the cabernet land anywhere.

the land here at eller's estate has been in grapes for 125 years. jean le duc was a pretty amazing businessman, built businesses in france, came to america and did the same thing. john leducq had a problem with his own ticker and was very cutting-edge heart bypass surgery at the mayo clinic so he wanted to give something back. he created the leducq international fund neuro vascular research. they've finded funded to the tune of $200 million. when i first arrived here my marching orders were make great wine, take care of the property, take care of the wine and the personnel and send money back to the foundation.

>> the money is substantial and it really allows a significant amount of research to be performed. >> the ultimate goal is to treat newborns that are born with the most devastating type of congenital heart disease and improve their lives dramatically. the goal is ultimately that these children that 20 years ago had absolutely no prognosis go on and live long, fruitful lives. >> i didn't come here to be a do-gooder. i came here because i knew i could make world class wine from this land. on top of all ha, to be owned by this foundation and return all of our profits back to support international cardiovascular research is just astounding. if you look carefully and turn that "e" sideways you see there is a little heart in the "e." it is first and foremost about the wine but we love that little

heart in the logo. did you know today is an official holiday in great britain sm it is boxing day. these ladies are taking it seriously. what is boxing day? we're going to tell you next. people with a machine. what ? customers didn't like it.

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it is boxing day in great britain and other commonwealth countries as well, including australia and canada. traditionally on the day after christmas, servants and the poor were given gifts. one theory is because servants were required to work christmas day, their employers let them take the day after christmas off and servants were given gifts in boxes, also served with horse racing and rugby and a bit of drinking. 2012 is just six days away. less than a week to close out the books on the old year and start the if you year. christine romans has the skinny on keeping your wallet fat. >> reporter: as the clock winds down on 2011, don't drop the ball on your finances. first, use it or lose it when it comes to your flexible spending accounts. these are the pre-tax spending accounts set up to pay your co-pays or prescriptions.

rules changed this year so that new year's eve run to the drugstore to buy $100 in aspirin, band-aids and tissues, it won't fly this year. check with your company plan and make sure you've sent all that money you've set aside. sell losing investments if you need the write-off and make charitable contributions before december 31st to get those tax deductions. check the rules at irs.gov to see if your donation qualifies. next, plan for 2012. >> it is absolutely step number one, get out of credit card debt. step two, it is an election year. we have no idea what's going to happen. markets are up every single day. this kind of stuff drives normal investors like me crazy. a very smart person once told me to stop staring at it and if it drives you that nuts, then just stay out of it for a while. >> diversify your retirement account, make sure it is the right strategy for you. if you're young, focus on stops. if you're close to retiring, choose more bonds and raise your 401(k) contribution by one percentage point each year for five years to help close the gap

between what you are saving and what you really need. and finally, invest in yourself. >> put your resume together and fill in the gaps, whether it is going back to school for education while not working or taking on another responsibility where you are at. biggest control piece you have is investing in yourself. no one can take that away. have you a lot to say about today's "talk back" question. should betting on a presidential race be legal? "i think it should be allowed. why buck the pattern of money being the root of all this evil?" in america, we believe in a future that is better than today. since 1894, ameriprise financial has been working hard for their clients' futures. never taking a bailout. helping generations achieve dreams. buy homes. put their kids through college.

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been getting a lot of buzz on this "talk back" question. should betting on a presidential race be legal? a derivatives exchange is asking to legalize wagering on elections. "no, we need to stop treating politics as a sport. political parties are not sports teams and candidates are not players. these people will be leading our country!" ryan says this would be a fun and entertaining and give us and an outlook on what the general public is actually thinking as opposed to the news agencies who all have a slant on the topic.

lee says letting people bet on outcome of the election would make it much too extreme. jan says finally -- why not? if people believe they could win some money by helping their candidate win the election, they may become more active in the campaign and it could increase voter turnout. too many people don't participate now because they don't see anything in it for them regardless of who wins. money motivates people. little skin in the game there from jan. seymour responses on cnn.com/suzannecnn. keep the conversation going. we want to talk about politics here. tomorrow on "the situation room," wolf blitzer is going to interview republican presidential candidate newt gingrich. that's tomorrow starting at 4:00 eastern on "the situation room." tension between nuclear neighbors india and pakistan mark every day with a gate closing ceremony that takes place at the border. it is part dance, all bluster,

and our reza sayah found out a big tourist attraction. >> reporter: who's tougher? who's stronger? who's got more swagger? this is the daily showdown between nuclear neighbors pakistan and india at the border crossing just outside of lahore. >> intense. >> this war dance is a symbol of six decades of bad blood and mistrust sparked by a violent separation in 1947 after british rule and fueled by three wars, a nuclear standoff, and a seemingly endless barrage of accusations from both sides. ever since 1959, the long-time rivals' border gar have met here at sunset and faced off in a flag lowering ceremony. >> it is just about spirit and

patriotism. >> reporter: each angry stop, each glare, another dagger in the battle of this bravado. if you want to know what india and pakistan's often bitter rivalry feels like, this is where you come. the ceremony starts with a furious 50-yard march to the border gates. then comes the stare-downs, followed by synchronized lowering of the flags. the event is one of the region's most popular tourist attractions. thousands line the stands on each side of the border. the stronger the scowl, the louder the roar. few electrify the pakistani crowd more than sergeant tarik mahmoud. at 6'6", 240 pounds, no border guard here is bigger. the towering figure who doesn't speak on camera but makes clear that his country is not to be messed with. but over the past years though there's been some developments and some signs that show maybe,

just maybe, this icy relationship is thawing. pakistan and india are meeting again. leaders talking peace, not pointing fingers. and work is under way to expand trade. despite signs of improved relations, the border gates are still slammed shut after every ceremony. erasing half a century of mistrust takes time, experts say. reza sayah, cnn, pakistan. >> wow. well, from the massive occupy wall street protests to attacks in libya -- we are going to show you some of the best i-reports of 2011.e rd, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65,

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thmplts year was filled with iconic moments from across the world. we'll take a look back now at some of the most memorable i-reports. >> so excited. i'm so proud to be an arab today. for the people of egypt to want

it. >> whoa! whoa! whoa! oh, my god! holy crap. oh, my god, the building's going to fall! >> the whole ground was shaking so much, it was -- it was unbelievable. >> it's something that you would not wish upon your worst enemy. >> we are currently being escorted by the local authorities here down to the media area so we can get as close to buckingham palace as

possible. >> congratulations, william and katherine. o. >> right now we're fighting for jobs. we're fighting for peace. >> it's over. the tyrant is gone!